Nearly 2 million evacuated as Typhoon Haikui hits China

A farmer moves on a flooded path to check his aquatic farming ponds in Hepu township in Xiangshan county, Zhejiang province, China on August 8, 2012. Typhoon Haikui, the third hitting China in a week, landed in Hepu early on Wednesday.

AFP - Getty Images

Rescuers help evacuate residents from their homes in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province on August 7, 2012, ahead of Typhoon Haikui.

Reuters reports — Typhoon Haikui struck China on Wednesday, packing winds of up to 68 mph, prompting officials to evacuate nearly 2 million people and grounding hundreds of flights to and from Shanghai and other cities.

More than 1.5 million people in the eastern province of Zhejiang and 252,000 residents of outlying parts of Shanghai were evacuated after Haikui landed early in the morning, causing flooding and stranding hundreds of people, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Continue reading.